Advertising sign

ABSTRACT

A large outdoor advertising sign formed of a vertical support panel having a pair of horizontally axised idler rollers, with one arranged at the upper end and the other at the lower end of the panel, and a pair of horizontal wind-up rollers arranged upon the rear face of the panel. A long, flexible, cloth-like message carrying sheet is arranged upon the forward face of the panel, with its opposite ends extending around the idler rollers and wound upon the wind-up rollers for moving the sheet and thereby exposing different portions of it upon the panel forward face. The wind-up rollers each are mounted for pivoting upon a horizontal axis which is centered upon and perpendicular to the center point of the roller central axis, for keeping the edges of the sheet aligned with the edges of the idler rollers. A vacuum means upon the forward face of the panel at the vertical edges of the sheet, holds the sheet against wrinkling.

United States Patent [191 Singer [54] ADVERTISING SIGN [76] Inventor:Karl Singer, 26126 Meadowcrest,

Huntington Woods, Mich. 48070 [22] Filed: June 21,1971

[21] Appl.No.: 154,879

[52] US. Cl. ..40/31, 226/21, 242/57.l

Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell Assistant ExaminerL. R. OremlandAttorney-Daniel G. Cullen et al.

[451 Apr. 10, 1973 ABSTRACT A large outdoor advertising sign formed of avertical support panel having a pair of horizontally axised idlerrollers, with one arranged at the upper end and the other at the lowerend of the panel, and a pair of horizontal wind-up rollers arranged uponthe rear face of the panel. A long, flexible, cloth-like messagecarrying sheet is arranged upon the forward face of the panel, with itsopposite ends extending around the idler rollers and wound upon thewind-up rollers for moving the sheet and thereby exposing differentportions of it upon the panel forward face. The wind-up rollers each aremounted for pivoting upon a horizontal axis which is centered upon andperpendicular to the center point of the roller central axis, forkeeping the edges of the sheet aligned with the edges of the idlerrollers. A vacuum means upon the forward face of the panel at thevertical edges of the sheet, holds the sheet against wrinkling.

3 Claims, 11 Drawing; Figures PATENTEDAFR 1 01m sum 2 BF 2 INVENTOR.

ARL SINGER.

CULLEN, SEITTLE, SLOMAN a 0mm? ATT'YS.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The invention herein relates to an improvementto the type of sign disclosed, for example, in the prior US. Pat.application of Karl Singer and Louis Vogel, Ser. No. 854,449, now US.Pat. No. 3,6l6,554, filed Sept. 2, 1969. In such sign, messages areimprinted upon an elongated sheet, a portion of which is exposed througha window in a large sign cabinet with the opposite ends wound aroundrollers. The sign messages may be changed by rolling the sheet onto oneroller and off the other, thereby exposing different portions forviewing.

In dealing with a sign of this character, the large size of the messagecarrying sheet, as for example several feet inwidth and many feet-inlength, creates a problem in keeping the sheet aligned with the rollersand support. That is, a sheet of this size tends to stretch and contractdepending upon weather conditions, exposure to the sun, etc., andadditionally tends to wrinkle. Where part of the sheet is heated by thesun andpart is shaded, the stretching and contracting problem isaggrevated. The result is the, sheet tends to slip to one side oranother, becoming misaligned and thus failing to properly roll up andunwind.

Hence, the invention herein relates to certain improvements whichfunctionto keep the edges of the sheet properly aligned at all times,with a means for correcting and compensating for tendencies tomisalign.Also included is ameans for reducing and substantially elminating thetendency ofithe sheet to wrinkle.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The invention herein contemplates forming the signwith a large support panel having an upper and a lower idler roller,with a long, wide message carrying sheet arranged against the face ofthe panel and itsopposite ends extending around the rollers to the rear.of the panel where they are wound upon powered. wind-up the wind-uprollers are mounted upon pivoted strips or boards so that they tilttogether upwardly and downwardly along a central axis, as needed, tomove the sheet sideways into proper alignment when misalignment occurs.

Additionally, the invention contemplates forming a rectangular shapedstrip frame on' a face of the panel, beneath the sheet, with rows ofholes on the panel at each outer edge thereof, adjacent the strips ofthe frame, and the application of a vacuum through such holes when thestrip is not moved, wherein the strip is laterally or sidewise stretchedaround the edges of the frame to prevent wrinkling and to hold the sheetagainst flapping orbuckling in wind.

Generally, an object of this invention is toprovide a simplifiedstructure wherein a very large sized, elongated sheet may,be.exposed,.section by section, upon an advertising sign, with a meansto prevent the sheet from becoming misaligned as it advances over thesign and with a means to hold it against wrinkling or buck ling, withthe construction being operable automatically with practically norequired maintenance.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention willbecomeapparent, upon reading the following description, of which the attacheddrawings form a part.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of thechangeable message portion of the sign herein.

FIG. 2 isa perspective view, to a smaller scale, showing the overallsign appearance.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the rear face of the sign construction,and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken in the direction of arrows 4-4 ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective rear view of the signconstructron.

FIG. 6 is arear elevation, to a smaller scale, with the wind-up rollersremoved, to show the tilt mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the front face of the sign, with thesheet shown in dotted lines.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one edge of the supportpanel.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, perspective view of an edge of the support panel.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken in the direction of arrows 1l-11of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10, but showing the vacuum applied.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 2 illustrates the changeable message outdooradvertising sign 10 which is formed of a large box-like construction 11having a cut-out message window 12 and supported upon suitable supportlegs 13. Various permanent message may be painted upon the front face ofthe box-like construction. However, the message in the message window ischangeable as it is painted or imprinted upon a flexible, cloth-likestrip 15 which is moved to expose various portions through the window.

The sheet 15 is arranged upon the exposed face of a support panel 16which is suitably secured within the box construction, inback of thewindow 12. The opposite ends of the sheet pass over an upper idlerroller 17 and a lower idle roller 18, each secured by suitable brackets19 to the upper and lower edges of the panel. The free ends of the sheetare then wrapped around an upper wind-up roller 20 and a lower wind-uproller 21 arranged at the rear of the panel and each secured by suitablebrackets 22 to an elongated, horizontally arranged, flat board or stripwhich is connected by a pivot 24 to the rear of the panel. Such pivotsare arranged at the center of their respective wind-up rollers, alignedwith the central axis thereof and are perpendicular to such rollercentral axis.

Each of the wind-up rollers is provided with a chain and sprocketarrangement 25, on one end thereof, connected to a suitable motor 26,which motors are reversible so as to drive the rollers in eitherdirection for A suitable electrical sensing switch 34 is mounted on oneedge of the panel for centering the edge of the sheet and for actuatingwhenever the sheet edge shifts out of vertical alignment. This switch isconnected to the motor 30 and actuates the motor 30 to operate either inone direction or the other, depending upon which way the sheet edgeshifts.

When motor 30 is turned on, the pinion moves the rack 32 causing thelower board 23 to tilt (see FIG. 6). Consequently, the connecting link27 likewise tilts the upper board so that the two boards tilt inparallelism about pivots which are at all times centrally aligned withthe respective wind-up rollers. When that happens, the wind-up rollersexert a slightly sidewise force upon the sheet which drags the sheet toone side or another of the idler rollers and straightens the sheet outso that its edge realigns with the sensing switch 34. Thus, the on andoff switching of the sensing switch 34 and the operation of the motor30, tilting the boards either upwardly or downwardly, as required,maintains the sheet in alignment and corrects misalignment each time thesheet is moved.

To eliminate wrinkles formed in the sheet, as well as to avoid bucklingor wrinkling caused by wind forces upon the sign, a vacuum stretchingand holddown means is provided on the front face of the panel 16.Referring to FIGS. 71l, a rectangular frame 40 is formed upon the faceof the panel 16 by means of thin, narrow, vertical strips 41 andhorizontal strips 42 secured to the panel face. A row of aligned, smallholes 43 is formed through the panel at its opposite, side, and upperand lower edges, closely adjacent to the vertical strips 41. A suitablechannel or pipe or tube 44 is arranged upon the rear face of the panelover the holes and is connected by a suitable tube (shown schematicallyat 45) to a vacuum pump 46 mounted at the rear of the sign. Operation'of the vacuum pump 46 establishes a suction through the holes 43.However, the vacuum pump is adapted to operate only when the sheet isstationary, that is, when the wind-up rollers are not moved.

A suitable electrical connection (not shown) may be provided todeactivate the vacuum pump whenever the windup rollers are actuated.When the sheet is moved by actuating the motors 26, the sheet drags overthe frame 40, as shown in FIG. 10. However, when the sheet stops moving,the vacuum pump 46 is actuated, sucking air from beneath the sheet andthe panel and drawing the sheet down against the face of the panel andaround the vertical strips 41, as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 11, andsimilarly around the horizontal strips 42. This drawing down actionexerts a sidewise pull on the sheet, substantially reducing oreliminating wrinkles in the sheet. In addition, it causes outside airpressure to hold the sheet flat and prevent it from waving or bucklingor wrinkling under wind forces. Since signs of this character areexpected to be of considerable size, such as many feet in width andheight, the forces of wind upon it would otherwise tend to cause thesheet to flutter, making it difficult to read as well as subjecting itto undue stress and strain which could result in tearing.

In operation, an operator or maintenance man installs the sheet upon therollers and then places the roilers upon the sign located in someoutdoor point.

Thereafter, the electrical system of the sign is turned on. A timinmechanism ma be provided for periodically actuating the motors 2 foradvancing the sheet incrementally. That is, the sheet may be providedwith advertising messages on a frame by frame basis, like a motionpicture and be advanced from frame to frame for specified periods oftime. In between the advancement of these sheets, the vacuum pump 46operates to hold the sheet down as mentioned above.

Various types of electrical controls and mechanism may be used for thepurposes described above. Since these types of devices are conventionaland available on the market, they are not further described here.

Having fully described an operative embodiment of this invention, I nowclaim:

1. An advertising sign, comprising:

a vertically arranged panel having a forward face and a rear face;

a pair of horizontally arranged idler rollers arranged axially parallelto the panel, with one arranged at the upper end and the other arrangedat the lower end of the panel;

an upper and a lower horizontally arranged, rotatable wind-up rollerarranged at the rear face of the panel;

each wind-up roller being rotatably mounted at its ends upon rollermounting brackets secured on the opposite ends ofa horizontallyelongated strip;

and a horizontally directed pivot connecting each strip to the rear ofthe panel, with the axis of the pivot arranged perpendicular to thecenter of the axis of the wind-up roller whereby each of the wind-uprollers pivot in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis which isperpendicular to both the panel and the center of the central axis ofsaid wind-up roller;

and means interconnecting said two strips so that they pivot togetherwith their respective wind-up rollers remaining axially parallel;

a long, wide, flexible, cloth-like sheet having messages applied uponits surface along its length, with the sheet extending across the panelforward face, and its opposite ends extending around the idler rollersand wound-up upon the wind-up rollers, the sheet being of sufficientlength so that rotation of the wind-up rollers advances the sheet in agenerally vertical direction upon the panel for exposing various messagebearing portions of the sheet upon the forward face of the panel.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1, and said means interconnectingthe two strips comprising a link extending between and having itsopposite ends connected to their adjacent strips, with each endconnection aligned with the axis of the wind-up roller of the respectivestrip.

3. A construction as defined in claim 1, and including sensing means fordetecting misalignment between an edge of the sheet and the idlerrollers and for actuating a power means connected to and arranged tomove at least one of said strips about its pivot and thereby pivot thewind-up rollers, for applying a transverse force upon the sheet to causerealignment as the sheet rolls over the idler rollers.

1. An advertising sign, comprising: a verticallY arranged panel having aforward face and a rear face; a pair of horizontally arranged idlerrollers arranged axially parallel to the panel, with one arranged at theupper end and the other arranged at the lower end of the panel; an upperand a lower horizontally arranged, rotatable wind-up roller arranged atthe rear face of the panel; each wind-up roller being rotatably mountedat its ends upon roller mounting brackets secured on the opposite endsof a horizontally elongated strip; and a horizontally directed pivotconnecting each strip to the rear of the panel, with the axis of thepivot arranged perpendicular to the center of the axis of the wind-uproller whereby each of the wind-up rollers pivot in a vertical planeabout a horizontal axis which is perpendicular to both the panel and thecenter of the central axis of said wind-up roller; and meansinterconnecting said two strips so that they pivot together with theirrespective wind-up rollers remaining axially parallel; a long, wide,flexible, cloth-like sheet having messages applied upon its surfacealong its length, with the sheet extending across the panel forwardface, and its opposite ends extending around the idler rollers andwound-up upon the wind-up rollers, the sheet being of sufficient lengthso that rotation of the wind-up rollers advances the sheet in agenerally vertical direction upon the panel for exposing various messagebearing portions of the sheet upon the forward face of the panel.
 2. Aconstruction as defined in claim 1, and said means interconnecting thetwo strips comprising a link extending between and having its oppositeends connected to their adjacent strips, with each end connectionaligned with the axis of the wind-up roller of the respective strip. 3.A construction as defined in claim 1, and including sensing means fordetecting misalignment between an edge of the sheet and the idlerrollers and for actuating a power means connected to and arranged tomove at least one of said strips about its pivot and thereby pivot thewind-up rollers, for applying a transverse force upon the sheet to causerealignment as the sheet rolls over the idler rollers.